1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to in-line or tandem roller skates, and more particularly to a skate utilizing angularly mounted wheels whose ground contacting surfaces are in an in-line relationship, with the angular mounting of the wheels enabling the user to achieve improved traction during a turn.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many generations of children and adults alike have enjoyed the pleasures of roller skating, and originally, the roller skates they used were of the so-called "quad" type, with each skate having a pair of wheels in the front, and a pair of wheels in the back.
For reasons of increased speed and maneuverability, many skaters have stopped using quad skates, and have gone over to what are called linear skates, involving a design wherein the wheels of each skate are disposed along a straight line. Linear or in-line skates have at least three wheels, but may utilize four, five or possibly more wheels, for as a generality, the larger the number of wheels, the smoother the ride.
Conventional in-line or linear roller skates normally utilize two or more wheels positioned to rotate within a common vertical plane, and while operating as roller skates, have much of the feel and behavior associated with ice skates. Substantially the same bodily movements are required to operate both ice skates and in-line roller skates, and such roller skates have become increasingly popular with ice skaters as a desirable training tool for off season and on-street use. In recent years, in-line roller skates have been capturing an increasing share of the recreational skate market and in time may parallel jogging as a healthy and pleasurable adult sport.
Tandem or in-line skates are well known and appear at least as early as 1876 in U.S. Pat. No. 7,345 of C. W. Saladee, which disclosed a two-wheel in-line model featuring a somewhat complex, spring loaded carriage supporting laterally pivoting rollers for improved maneuverability and even distribution of skater weight. Unfortunately, this early device was heavy, noisy and quite complicated to manufacture and assemble.
In 1946, U.S. Pat. No. 2,412,290 to O. G. Rieske disclosed a heavy metal framed, three-wheel, in-line skate for indoor use which featured an endless, rubberized belt so as to avoid damage to wooden floors. The belt rotated on three pulley-like wheels wherein the intermediate wheel was vertically adjustable to produce a rocking action in a forward or rearward direction which made it easier to steer and maneuver the skate. Vertical adjustment of the intermediate wheel was achieved by a clamping bolt and a system of interlocking teeth and allowed a range of vertical adjustment.
In 1966, G. K. Ware in U.S. Pat. No. 3,287,023 disclosed an in-line skate with thin, rounded wheels which endeavored to simulate the performance of ice skates. The Ware skate utilized a fairly heavy metal frame having front and rear frame members with longitudinally extending and overlapping sections. Three sections had a multiplicity of horizontally arranged axle apertures which permitted positioning of wheel axles in a variety of different locations and provided continuous adjustability of the frame to accommodate a wide variety of boot sizes. The Ware frame also included the positioning of apertures at several elevations at the front and rear of the skate so that the forward and rear wheels could be a higher level than the two inter-mediate wheels. The Ware frame and variations of it are still in use on currently available in-line roller skates and has been the best all around frame available for such skates.
The Ware skate utilized a wheel formed of tough, firm but slightly soft and resilient rubber and having a central hub into which individual ball bearings were received and in which they were retained by a pair of cone elements which extended laterally from the wheel, so as to prevent contact between wheel and frame during cornering of the skate. A toe brake was utilized at the front end of the skate for stopping the skate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,492,385 to Scott B. Olson disclosed a hybrid skate combining the desirable features of both ice and roller skates and featured a mounting system which could carry either the traditional ice skating blade or a series of in-line wheels.
Other tandem roller skates with various wheel structures and configurations are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,441 to Silver; U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,203 to Kukulowicz; U.S. Pat. No. 3,963,252 to Carlson; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,618,158 to Liberkowski. A number of distinct wheel structures have been developed for use with tandem skates, conventional roller skates and other roller devices, some of which are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 189,783, 2,670,242, 4,054,335 and 4,114,952.
Length has been the principal limitation on the number of wheels that can be utilized on a linear skate, for the use of too many conventionally mounted wheels means that at least one of such wheels must protrude an undesirable distance in front of the toe portion and behind the heel portion of the skater's boot.
It was in an effort to provide a design permitting an increased number of wheels on a linear skate as well as better traction and maneuverability that the present invention was evolved.